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| Image from this blog |
The knuckleballer went from Indy ball to the Arizona Fall League in
2015, what does 2016 have in store for Mickey Jannis?
2015 with Long Island Ducks: 16 G (11 GS), 83.2 IP, 1.83 RA/1.18 ERA, 53 H, 17 R (11 ER), 3 HR, 67 K: 26 BB (20.6 K%: 8.0 BB%)
2015 with St. Lucie: 8 G (7 GS), 45.1 IP, 4.96 RA/2.98 ERA/3.67 FIP, 43 H, 25 R (15 ER), HR, 25 K: 18 BB (12.5 K%: 9 BB%), .250/.318/.302, .276 BABIP, .052 ISO, 61.7 LOB%, 0.20 HR/9, 93 ERA-/114 FIP-/124 xFIP-, 92 wRC+, 50.7 GB%: 29.7 FB%: 13.5 LD%: 6.1 PU%, 1.03 GO/AO
2015 with Binghamton: 3 GS, 13 IP, 5.54 RA/5.54 ERA/4.42 FIP, 10 H, 8 R, HR, 11 K: 8 BB (19 K%: 13.8 BB%), .204/.310/.286, .237 BABIP, .082 ISO, 60.2 LOB%, 0.69 HR/9, 151 ERA-/120 FIP-/105 xFIP-, 76 wRC+, 71.1 GB%: 15.8 FB%: 5.3 LD%: 7.9 PU%, 2.45 GO/AO, 217 Pitches, 16.7 P/IP, 60.4% Strikes, 9.2 SwStr%, 22.2% Whiff/Swing
2015 in the AFL: 6 GS, 29 IP, 3.41 RA/2.48 ERA/4.31 FIP, 26 H, 11 R (8 ER), 17 K: 13 BB (14.2 K%: 10.8 BB%), .231/.320/.308, .287 BABIP, .087 ISO, 75.1 LOB%, 0.31 HR/9, 58 ERA-/101 FIP-/119 xFIP-, 90 wRC+, 51.7 GB%: 20.7 FB%: 18.4 LD%: 9.2 PU%, 1.07 GO/AO, 443 Pitches, 15.28 P/IP, 6.8 SwStr%, 16.1% Whiff/Swing
Per Brooks
Fourseam: Averaged 91 MPH on 13 pitches
Twoseam: Averaged 89 MPH on 15 pitches
Knuckleball: Averaged 78 MPH on 174 pitches, 19% Whiff/Swing
When Mickey Jannis’s dream of
pitching in the major leagues came to an abrupt halt after the 2011 season, he
knew he’d have to reinvent himself to make it back. The Rays, who had selected
him in the 44th round of the 2010 draft, cut him loose, and no one
picked him up that offseason. As I went into when the signing
was announced, Jannis had dabbled with the knuckleball previously, and was
considering trying it as his primary pitch in Indy ball when R.A. Dickey
emerged with the Mets, which sealed the deal. It took some time to transition
completely, but he got help from knuckleball master Charlie Hough along the
way, and his hard work paid off when he reached AA and the AFL in 2015. He had
only made two appearances as high as the A+ level while pitching for the Rays
as a ‘normal’ pitcher, so last year had to be pretty satisfying.
He didn’t spend long in the minors
last year, so the splits below aren’t too useful, but I put them together if
you’re interested. He made 3 starts with Binghamton, and 2 went really well,
but he couldn’t find the strike zone or get out of the 1st in the
other start. Also, his first start was in one of the few EL parks without a CF
camera angle, so I didn’t get any knuckleball shots – although, you
can see a few overhead views of his mechanics. So there’s only one start with 13 knuckleball GIF’s posted below, but there’s
also a link to some AFL footage that Fangraphs posted on YouTube earlier this
month.
Aside from the hard 78 MPH knuckleball, he
throws a 90 MPH fastball, which could be a nasty combo - he'd be the hardest throwing modern knuckleballer. He still has to prove he can
control the knuckler, but when he keeps it near the zone, it’s fun to watch. He
cut through a very talented Reading lineup like a hot knife through mostly
melted butter on 9/3, inducing some of the ugliest swings I saw all year – it
was great! You never know if a knuckleballer will be able to make it work until he does, but it worked for him in Indy ball, so there is a chance. Either way, I’m just excited that Jannis
is in the upper levels of the system this year so I can watch that knuckler
dance all year!
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| Mickey Jannis spray charts vs. LHP (left) and vs. RHP (right) |
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| Mickey Jannis AFL strike zone profile |
Table 1 – Mickey Jannis 2015 Splits by Month
Month
|
TBF
|
ERA-
|
FIP-
|
BB%
|
K%
|
wRC+
|
GB%
|
July
|
118
|
123
|
126
|
11
|
14.4
|
99
|
48.2
|
FSL August
|
82
|
47
|
97
|
6.1
|
9.8
|
82
|
53.8
|
EL August
|
23
|
138
|
155
|
8.7
|
13
|
108
|
55.6
|
September
|
35
|
160
|
96
|
17.1
|
22.9
|
54
|
85
|
Table 2 – Mickey Jannis 2015 Platoon Splits
League
|
Split
|
TBF
|
HR
|
BB%
|
K%
|
BABIP
|
ISO
|
wRC+
|
GB%
|
SS%
|
W/S
|
FSL
|
RHB
|
128
|
1
|
8.6
|
17.2
|
.340
|
.071
|
117
|
48.9
|
-
|
-
|
FSL
|
LHB
|
72
|
0
|
9.7
|
4.2
|
.172
|
.017
|
46
|
53.4
|
-
|
-
|
EL
|
RHB
|
29
|
0
|
6.9
|
24.1
|
.300
|
.038
|
54
|
70
|
10.4
|
21.6
|
EL
|
LHB
|
29
|
1
|
20.7
|
13.8
|
.167
|
.130
|
97
|
72.2
|
8.1
|
23.1
|
Table 3 – Mickey Jannis 2015 Splits by Batted Ball Type
League
|
Type
|
TBF
|
BABIP
|
LG BABIP
|
wOBA
|
LG wOBA
|
FSL
|
FB
|
44
|
.233
|
.219
|
.276
|
.339
|
FSL
|
GB
|
82
|
.225
|
.243
|
.224
|
.239
|
FSL
|
LD
|
20
|
.700
|
.757
|
.727
|
.805
|
EL
|
FB
|
6
|
.200
|
.200
|
.582
|
.367
|
EL
|
GB
|
28
|
.214
|
.247
|
.198
|
.236
|
EL
|
LD
|
2
|
1.00
|
.705
|
.924
|
.750
|
Table 4 – Mickey Jannis 2015 Splits by Times Through the
Order
League
|
Times Faced
|
TBF
|
HR
|
BB%
|
K%
|
BABIP
|
ISO
|
wRC+
|
GB%
|
SS%
|
W/S
|
FSL
|
1
|
68
|
0
|
7.4
|
11.8
|
.333
|
.050
|
118
|
48
|
-
|
-
|
FSL
|
2
|
63
|
1
|
4.8
|
15.9
|
.298
|
.072
|
95
|
46.8
|
-
|
-
|
FSL
|
3
|
61
|
0
|
16.4
|
9.8
|
.227
|
.041
|
89
|
56.8
|
-
|
-
|
EL
|
1
|
28
|
0
|
21.4
|
25
|
.133
|
0
|
30
|
57.1
|
8.3
|
21.7
|
EL
|
2
|
17
|
1
|
0
|
17.6
|
.231
|
.236
|
94
|
78.6
|
11.9
|
25.9
|
EL
|
3
|
13
|
0
|
15.4
|
7.7
|
.400
|
0
|
149
|
80
|
8.1
|
17.6
|
Astromets Mind Coverage
8/22
– 5.1 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 3 K HR, 78 Pitches (48 Strikes), 8 GO: 4 FO
Led to a nice play from L.J. Mazzilli
Led to a diving stop from L.J.
Led to a nice play from L.J. Mazzilli
Led to a diving stop from L.J.
YouTube Videos
There’s a lot more of Jannis on YouTube, but I already
linked to most of the other video’s here.
From GenyMets – An interview this Spring
Training
First discovery of a binary companion for a Type Ia supernova https://t.co/Ekd9M7aTWp pic.twitter.com/m0MfLT6cyx— Astronomy Now (@AstronomyNow) March 23, 2016
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